DTI backs AREI at official launch

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25 February 2015 News

The official opening ceremony for the Association of Representatives for the Electronics Industry (AREI), held at Kyalami Country Club in late January, saw some welcome new faces joining the ranks of the established member companies of the erstwhile Association of Distributors and manufacturers of Electronic Components (ADEC).

Speaking at the event, AREI chairman Arnold Perumal welcomed the new companies, most of which are electronics contract manufacturers – a very positive sign since it was precisely those companies’ participation that served as the primary motivation for the formation of the new body.

Perumal also confirmed the Department of Trade and Industry’s (DTI) support by introducing guest speaker Yusuf Timol, electrotechnical director at that department. Timol expressed his enthusiasm for the increased cooperation between government and industry promised by the new venture.

Sharing his thoughts on the failure of previous attempts to promote similar public-private collaboration, Timol opined that the main shortcoming in the past was a tendency towards a government-driven approach. He therefore welcomed the renewed enthusiasm demonstrated by the local electronics sector for playing a more active role in guiding its own destiny.

Also promising is that he expressed a strong interest by the DTI in gaining a more thorough understanding of this sector and its unique set of challenges and opportunities. Specifically, he spoke of encouraging progress already made through the DTI’s discovery of companies of which it was previously unaware. He also pointed out that the DTI has plenty to offer local companies in terms of marketing their exports and developing foreign markets.

Perumal also announced that AREI will be holding its first national expo in Durban this May, which he hopes will attract enthusiastic support from the association’s members as well as the electronic engineering community.

For more information contact Jenny Gooding, arei, +27 (0)11 462 3256, [email protected], www.adec.co.za

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DTI backs AREI at official launch

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